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Sun NEBS Opteron box

Look but don't buy

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Sun Microsystems has pumped out its first Opteron-based rack server aimed exclusively at the hardened telco crowd.

The hardware maker today heralded the release of the Netra X4200 M2 system – a NEBS 3 version of the X4200 M2 server released last October. Give credit to Sun for keeping the naming simple.

With the new Netra, you get a 2U high box running on the 2214 HE versions of AMD's dual-core Opteron chip. The system has a healthy amount of DIMM slots – 8 – and supports up to 32GB of memory. You'll also find four 10/100/1000 Ethernet NICs, three full-height PCI-X slots, one PCI-Express slot and room for up to four 146GB SAS drives.

Sun has dominated the telco market for quite some time and sees this Netra system as the first in a long line of x86-based gear aimed at carriers. The company expects customers to use the Netra X4200 M2 for tasks such as media serving, VoIP and network traffic analysis.

A two-socket version of the new server has started shipping at a starting price of $9,845. A one-socket box will ship in May, starting at $6,145.

Before the emails arrive, we'll note that Sun already ships the Netra CP3020 blade, which runs on Opteron as well. That box is an ATCA system and also meets the rigorous standards demanded of NEBS (3) compliance - such as being able to withstand extreme temperatures. Sun, however, wants you to know that the X4200 M2 is its first Opteron-based rack system in the Netra line.

Sun could use some serious website help on its Netra page. As of this writing, it only offers the Netra CP3020 blade with single-core Opterons, despite claiming the system can ship with dual-core Opterons on its product specifications page. In addition, customers hoping to pick up the new Netra X4200 M2 are told the system won't ship until May, despite Sun's public claims to the contrary. ®